Queen turns 77 Camilla has no time to celebrate due to Charles' commitments

The opening of Parliament with the King's Speech is one of the most important dates in the royal family's calendar. Camilla therefore has to subordinate the celebration plans for her 77th birthday to her royal duties.

Queen Camilla turns 77 years old today, July 17. To mark her birthday, the palace published a photo showing her in a blue dress on a balcony on the Channel Island of Guernsey.

Camilla and King Charles III (75) had visited the archipelago, which has special status as a Crown Estate, in recent days.

A post on X read: "Wishing the Queen a happy birthday today!"

The picture in the sunshine and against an idyllic backdrop with the sea and rocks in the background almost looks like a vacation photo. However, Camilla had to subordinate her birthday to fulfilling her duties.

A sprained ankle is probably giving Camilla a hard time

The royal couple are expected to attend the King's Speech in the House of Lords today.

Traditionally, the opening ceremony of the British Parliament is celebrated with great pomp. The King and Queen arrive in a gilded carriage from Buckingham Palace before Charles reads the government statement by the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Attentive observers had spotted a bandage on the Queen's right ankle during the visit to the Channel Islands. Camilla is reported to have suffered a slight sprain. True to the royals' principle of always keeping a "stiff upper lip" (grit your teeth), she didn't let it show.

Camilla stepped in after the King fell ill with cancer

The Queen, who was once not very popular as Princess Diana's rival, has long since earned a reputation as a pillar of the royal family. When first King Charles and later Princess Kate made cancer public this year, she attended a number of important appointments alone.

It was not known how Camilla planned to spend the rest of her birthday. Cannon salvos were to be fired in London to celebrate the day.

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